How to Remove an Ink Stain From Carpet

Spilling ink on carpet might cause some homeowners to reach for a bottle of antacid before grabbing a bottle of cleaner, but all is not lost. You can remove ink stains from carpet with a few cleaning products and some prep work. The trick is to stop the spreading without making it worse.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rubbing alcohol
• OxiClean or powdered laundry detergent
• Q-tips
• Paper towels
• Old rags
• Water

1. Blot freshly spilled ink with paper towels as soon as possible, but do not rub the ink stain. This will only make it worse. Daub the spots with paper towels until as much ink as possible has been lifted off the carpet fibers.

2. Use Q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol to swab at the ink stains without rubbing them around. The alcohol will help loosen and dissolve the ink.

3. Mix two tablespoons of OxiClean with 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve the powdered cleaner.

4. Saturate the ink stain with the OxiClean solution by pouring it directly on the carpet; then wait 5 minutes for the cleaner to work.

5. Blot the stain with paper towels or clean rags to remove residual ink and water.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 until the stain is removed.

7. Gently rub the carpet with a clean rag dipped in water; then allow the carpet to air dry.

8. Vacuum the carpet.

Tips & Warnings

• Powdered laundry detergent can be used as a substitute for OxiClean, although more time and detergent may be required to remove the ink stain. Be careful not to use detergents containing bleach.

References

• Ink pen stain removal from carpet
• Using OxiClean on ink stains